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The Status of Engineering Geology: Constraints on Infrastructure Development in Bangladesh

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The Status of Engineering Geology: Constraints on Infrastructure Development in Bangladesh City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Publications and Research York College 2018 The Status of Engineering Geology: Constraints on Infrastructure Development in Bangladesh Mir Fazlul Karim Geotesting Express Inc. Muhammad Qumrul Hassan University of Dhaka Nazrul I. Khandaker CUNY York College Masud Ahmed New York City Department of Environmental Protection Belal Ahmed Sayeed Dewberry Geotechnical Company How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/yc_pubs/223 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Dhaka University The Status of Engineering Geology: Constraints on Infrastructure Development in Bangladesh 1 2 3 4 5 Mir Fazlul Karim , Muhammad Qumrul Hassan , Nazrul Islam Khandaker , Masud Ahmed and Belal Ahmed Sayeed (1) Engineering Geologist, GeoTesting Express Inc., Geocomp Corporation, Acton, MA 01720, USA (2) Department of Geology, University of Dhaka, Ramna, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh (3) Geology Discipline, Earth and Physical Sciences, York College Of CUNY, 94-20, Guy R. Brewer Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11451, USA (4) New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Geotechnical Section, NYCDEP, 59-17, Junction Blvd, Queens, New York, NY 11373, USA (5) Dewberry Geotechnical Company. 132 W 31st St #301, New York, NY 10001, USA ABSTRACT In recent years, megacity Dhaka is known to have one of the fastest urban population growths in Bangladesh. The population in Dhaka and other megacities has increased from 7 to 50 million during the last four decades. The rapid rate of urban population growth, along with the extreme paucity of real-estate for new infrastructure development or upgrading existing facilities, is already exacerbating the situation for the city planners and exerting tremendous pressure to come-up with viable solutions. Although practice of engineering geology, geotechnical exploration, and testing exists in Bangladesh; the system has still yet to adopt controlled quality standards with unified and professionally acceptable methods. There is a dire need for accessing shallow borehole data via a central depository system in order to initiate, reassess and provide sound geoengineering recommendations for any contemplated capital construction projects. A well-coordinated system involving city agencies and private sectors can ease the situation for effecting communication regarding knowledge-sharing and keeping involved geotechnical personnel informed about already acquired data. Several development projects of the country received finance from various sources and were monitored by various agencies with prescribed methodology for execution and implementation. This diversity of funding, ownership and oversight of the projects has put the geotechnical exploration and testing system into challenging state in Bangladesh. Integration of pertinent geomorphic, regional geology, bedrock, water table and soil data will certainly aid understanding the constraints associated with any subsurface construction. Mega cities such as Dhaka and Chittagong will require intense modification in order to accommodate urban facilities, including installation of a multilevel transportation system with underground space utilization. On a positive note, the megacity of Dhaka has suitable natural ground conditions typified by sound geoengineering parameters. Standard geotechnical exploration coupled with assessment of geomorphic and geotechnical attributes will augment existing data to characterize geological materials and prepare detailed engineering/geotechnical reports to be used for design and capital construction projects. Geotechnical information from the recently completed City Water Tunnel # 3 (New York City) is considered. History of Engineering Geology in Bangladesh Geology of Bangladesh CONSTRAINTS ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN BANGLADESH The history of advancement of engineering geology in Bangladesh dates back to early seventies after the Port City Chittagong Generalized geology of Chittagong City Chittagong is RIVER EROSION AND FLOOD: independence of the country. By the virtue of national capacity the Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) led the largest port city of Bangladesh. The engineering 5 CASE STUDY OF FURIOUS PADMA RIVER EROSIN IN NARIA URBAN AREA the beginning of professional practice and contribution of engineering geology in Bangladesh. Among the pioneer geology of the city is essentially influenced by the flood plain of the Karnaphuli River, the tidal plain along the Bank line December 1984 Bank line December 2016 Erosion causes town to turn river. engineering geologists of this land the most mentionable are Mesbahuddin Ahmed, Anisur Rahman, AKM 7 coast of the Bay of Bengal, and the undulated-to-dissected Shahidul Hasan, Hasan Faruque, Khurshid Alam, Dr Khandokar Musharaff Hossain, Dr. Sajjad Hossain and Mir 3 2 hills. The hilly area is formed of folded, soft sedimentary Fazlul Karim. Though the concept and understanding of engineering geology existed during the early development rocks of Mio-Pliocene age and it is the southern extension 1 Karnaphully Floodplain 3 and Valley Plain years (before 1980) of Bangladesh, the quantification of qualitative geological information and data for 6 of Sitakunda Anticline. The bedrock formations are Naria township on moderate to intensely fractured and faulted at a number of Old Natural Levee engineering application was very limited as the practice of civil engineering relied on rule of thumb methods. It is 2.53 miles 2.53 miles places. In the beginning, the city started settling mainly in being noted that Mesbahuddin Ahmed was the first engineering geologist of Bangladesh. He coauthored the 8 4 the higher terrain except for a few patches of port facilities Bank line December 2017 seismic code for structural design engineering, through a national committee (popularly known as Committee of along the river mouth of Karnaphuli. Later, due to rapid 1 9 increase of the urban population, the city extended into the Experts on Earthquake Hazard Minimization of Geological Survey of Bangladesh), where the structural Failure of bank protection measures. engineering team was led by renowned civil engineer Dr. Jamilur Reza Choudhury of Bangladesh University of lower alluvial and coastal plains without considering the geological aspects and constraints of these terrains. The Engineering and Technology (BUET). The first quantitative engineering geological input by a group of young subsurface engineering geologic conditions are strongly Bank line December 1994 Old Natural Levee 2.53 miles 2.53 miles geologists of Dhaka University Geology Department during a 1980 engineering exhibition of Bangladesh Institute Karnaphully Floodplain suitable for construction of underground tunnels and Failure of stiff foundation on of Engineers in Dhaka, sponsored by Md. Nurul Amin, an engineer of Foundation Consultants Ltd. The group Figure 1: Geological Units infrastructures, provided detailed bedrock engineering Bank line December 2006 liquefiable sand and silt. was led by Mir Fazlul Karim and other members included Dr. Arif Mohiuddin Sikder and Dr. M. Aziz Hasan. The 1 and 2 – Folded hills of Tertiary sedimentary rock geology maps are prepared using standard seismic and 3 – Pleistocene Terraces Barind and Madhupur group made a poster session and participated in the exhibition to demonstrate geological factors responsible for geotechnical parameters . The city is exposed to landslide 4 – Old Alluvial Deposit (Chandina Alluvium) and slope instability, excavation of hills and valley fill, damaging different infrastructures in the cities. The most innovative presentation attempted to convince civil 5 – Alluvial Fan Deposit flash flood, soft soil, soil collapse, liquefaction, river and 6 – Paludal Deposit, Marshy clay & peat engineers and policy makers that damage to the roads of Dhaka city and surrounding regions were caused by coastal erosion, tidal surges and flood. The geological 2.53 miles year. every geology the bank shifting changes surface river Dynamic 7 – Young Alluvial Deposit (Inter-stream deposit) hazards are associated with various geo-dynamic geological factors. The postulated causes were simple and concerned the Madhupur Clay that forms the ground of 8 and 9 – Deltaic and Coastal Deposit. Including Beach, Figure 7: The mighty river Padma is a complex flow of various pattern, ranging between meandering and swiftly shifting braided at degradational and depositional geomorphological Dhaka city. The Madhupur Clay is composed of swelling clays and after every rainy season the roads get bumped Estuarine and Mangrove swamp deposits. Figure 6: Near Surface Engineering Geological Map of different seasons of the year which is totally dependent on discharge and runoff in the Padma River watershed including human up with swelling heaves and troughs causing fractures in the asphalt (or tarmacs in the airports) ultimately Chittagong City, Bangladesh (Karim, M F et al., 1990) processes in this area. interferences and control along the upstream. This year the river was severely furious in her flow and bank erosion and caused severely furious in her flow and bank erosion and caused demolishing of hundreds of infrastructures, many villages and number of urban centers degrading their physical condition. The engineers from the Roads and Highways adopted a significant change in Dhaka Megacity
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